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Join the CAHC Coalition!
Want to join the 40+ other organizations
and individuals who are part of the
Consumers for Affordable Health Care
Coalition?
Click here for more information.
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HHS Launches
New Consumer
Focused Health
Care Website
www.HealthCare.gov
A Powerful New Information Tool
That
Will
Give
Consumers
More
Control
Over
Their
Own
Health
Care
and
Allow
Them
to
Compare
Their
Coverage
Option
HHS
launches
new
consumer
website.
To read the press release click
this
link:
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Interesting Fact
about Health Literacy
About
half of adults in
the U.S. read at
only a basic or below
basic level.
Citation:
"Adult Literacy in America
(NALS)" National Center
for Education Statistics,
U.S. Dept of Education,
Office of Educational
Research and Improvement
(NCES 1993-275), April
2002.
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Health
Reform Implementation
We will continue
to track their activities and
provide updates.
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Presentations about the
Affordable Care Act Are Helpful
In June, Andrea Irwin presented
to the Maine Coalition for
Housing and Quality Services, in
partnership with the Maine
Parent Federation, a group
of person with disabilities,
their parents, and advocates.
Together with
Outreach Coordinator Lisa
Webber, Andrea offered advice
on how to access the small
business tax credits to a
group of self-employed and
uninsured persons in Farmington
with the Franklin County Healthy
Community Coalition.
She also gave a talk to the
Maine Women's Health Campaign.
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Celebrating
45 Years of Medicaid and Medicare
Together with partners, CAHC celebrated
the signing of the Medicaid and Medicare
laws by President Lyndon Johnson in
1965 by coordinating events in Bangor,
Portland and Lewiston Maine.
A proclamation by Governor Baldacci
recognizing the anniversary; and an
op-ed submitted by Engage Maine in the
Bangor Daily News.
Thank you to all
of our coalition partners and others
for their support in making these events
successful! We look forward to
continuing collaboration as the work
to promote the Affordable Care Act continues.
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Free
Training on Health Reform
We periodically
hold trainings about health care
and coverage issues.
These trainings will give you
more information about why national
and state health care reform is
important and how you can get
involved.
If you are interested in hosting
or attending any of these trainings,
please email Andrea Irwin.
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Grants for health reform education
are announced
To support
our ongoing public education efforts,
CAHC was recently selected as one
of ten non-profit organizations to
receive a Maine Health Access Foundation
grant to educate key constituency
groups about the new Affordable Care
Act.
The press release can be found here.
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Getting
Covered
Are you 18-34 and ready to do
your part in the fight for quality,
affordable health care for all Americans?
Visit www.gettingcovered.org for more
information.
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Thank You
for reading
our newsletters. Please
forward it along to others you
think may be interested.
If you are interested in learning
more about what CAHC has been
working on, or how we may be able
to help you in your health care
or health coverage matters, please
visit our Web site.
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Announcing
New Ways to
Stay Informed.
Search
Facebook for Consumers for
Affordable
Health Care
to connect with
CAHC today!
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CAHC receives award
from Portland Minority
Health Program
 In May, Consumers
for Affordable Health Care participated
in the 2010 Multicultural Exercise
for Health and Love sponsored
by the City of Portland Minority
Health Program. Andrea Irwin accepted
an award on behalf of CAHC to
commemorate our sponsorship at
the Minority Health Program offices
on June 30th.
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Final State
Health Plan Released
 The Governor's
Office of Health Policy and Finance
released its final version of
the 2010 State Health Plan. CAHC
and Maine Equal Justice submitted
substantive comments that
led to significant improvements
in the final plan.
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Mary Schneckenburger,
HelpLine and Outreach Associate
takes a HelpLine call
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Giving People Hope
True Story:
A single dad of a teenager
with health problems called the
HelpLine because he is being financially
wiped out by the costs of services
for his child's long-term
illness. They have been uninsured
for two years and his current
job does not offer insurance.
The dad's income is $85 a month
too high for MaineCare because
he works extra hours in warmer
weather to try to make ends meet.
Additionally, this dad needs several
medications because of a brain
tumor. HelpLine staff explained that
they might be eligible for hospital free
care for some things, prescription
assistance programs and the sliding
scale
health clinics. They
also recommended he try to
get on the waiting list for
DirigoChoice coverage for people
with high medical costs. DirigoChoice
will provide discounts off of
premium, deductible, and maximum
out of pocket costs, based on
someone's household income.
Have a question of your
own? Call the free and confidential
CAHC HelpLine
1-800-965-7476 |
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CAHC Coalition Board of Directors
News
The new interim
Board of Directors for the Coalition,
as elected by the membership at
the May 27th meeting, met in June,
July and August.
New Interim Board members are:
-
Jesse Graham, President, Executive
Director, Maine People's
Alliance
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Joe Ditré, Secretary, Executive
Director, Consumers for
Affordable Health Care
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Mitchell Stein, Individual member,
Consultant, Consumers for
Affordable Health Care and
Volunteer, Maine Council
of Churches
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Pat Berger, Individual CAHC member
and owner, The Pond Pool
of Wellness
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Alice E. Knapp, Esq., longtime CAHC
member and attorney, The
Law Offices of Alice E.
Knapp
We are very grateful
for the Board's time and
energy!
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Engage Maine and Partners Rally
for Jobs and Health Care
On June 30, nearly
200 Mainers gathered in
Lobsterman's Park in Portland
to rally for jobs and
health care. Sponsored
by Maine Can Do Better,
CAHC members Ana Hicks
(Maine Equal Justice),
Mark Sullivan (Maine Center
for Economic Policy),
Ellie Goldberg (Maine
Children's Alliance),
and Rev. Jill Saxby (Maine
Council of Churches) all
spoke eloquently about
the need for our Senators'
leadership in supporting
federal funding for Maine's
Medicaid program and an
extension of unemployment
benefits, both vital to
our state budget and economy.
There was great press
coverage - check out the
Portland Press Herald
article on the event:http://www.pressherald.com/news/Rally-attendees-call-for-passage-of-jobs-bill.html
Emergency Medicaid Funding
Passed
On August 5, the Senate
voted in favor of the
extension. On August
10th the House also voted
to support the measure.
Please consider taking
a moment to thank our
Senators by phone or email,
or write a letter to your
local paper to publicly
thank them for their support.
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CAHC in the
News
Jun 29 Bangor Daily News:
July 1 Seacoast Online
July 14 Kennebec Journal
July 25 Lewiston Sun Journal
Every Monday in July
Great Falls TV aired
Answers from Augusta
with hosts Sen.
Margaret Craven and Rep.
Richard Wagner. The show featured
a discussion about Medicare
and Private Insurance with
CAHC's Mia Poliquin
Pross, Director of Policy
and Operations and
Dianna Scully with the
Office of Elder Services
at the Department of
Health and Human Services.
July 29 WABI TV5
Story and Video Clip
by Joseph P. Ditre
and Christine B. Hastedt
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CAHC Helps Promote Voucher
Program to Maine Businesses
Consumers for Affordable Health
Care began reaching out to Maine
businesses that employed 50
or more workers beginning in
early June, to inform them about
a program that they can offer
health insurance coverage to
their part-time and seasonal
workers. DHA recently announced
that vouchers will now be available
to employers of all sizes.
The program allows employers in
the State of Maine to offer
health insurance to part-time
and seasonal employees that:
earn less than $32,500 annually,
work between 10-35 hours/wk
annually, live and work in Maine,
and have been uninsured for
at least the previous 90 days
before applying. The only
cost to employers is a contribution
of at least 5% of the employee's
monthly premium.
The Dirigo Health Agency (DHA),
who administers the program,
received a federal grant from
the Human Resources and Services
Administration (HRSA) to fund
this program until 2014, when
the State Exchange becomes operational.
This program could act as a
bridge for businesses to offer
insurance to all part-time and
seasonal workers between now
and 2014.
In their outreach efforts, CAHC
contacted over 1,100 businesses
in Maine at least twice, sent
hundreds of mailings, and met
with interested parties from
Southern Maine to Downeast and
up to the County. There
is enough funding for 3,000-3,500
part-time and season employees
to enroll in the program, and
enrollment is a first-come,
first-serve basis. Businesses
need to take the first step,
however, and certify that they
want to extend coverage to their
part-time workforce.
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NAIC
Recommendations Released on the
Patient Protection and Affordable
Care Act (PPACA)
CAHC's Executive Director Joe Ditre
and his fellow members of
the National Association of
Insurance Commissioners (NAIC)
Consumer
Representatives prepared for the
NAIC Commissioners and Staff, a
publication entitled
"PPACA Implementation: Consumer
Recommendations for Regulators
and Lawmakers, May 2010."
The publication covers Rate Review,
Medical Loss Ratios, High
Risk Pools, Grandfathering
Clauses, Consumer Assistance
Programs, and many other
important provisions
of PPACA implementation.
You can read
the publication here.
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 Moosemania
On a lovely day in June a CAHC Outreach
staff traveled to Greenville,
Maine in our effort to reach
some of Maine's less urban
areas. The Greenville Chamber
of Commerce hosts various
events during June to bring
people to their town and the
Moosehead Lake. The event
on June 12 was primarily a
Craft Fair but a traditional
forum for CAHC to set up a
table and talk to both locals
and visitors about health
Coverage in Maine. This year
many people asked about MaineCare
and some asked about the Affordable
Care Act. As is typical after
an event, the HelpLine received
some calls the following week
from the area.
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CAHC Goes Downeast!
While
staffing a table at the Machias
Blueberry Festival, we provided
several hundred people in the
poorest county in the state with
information on free and low-cost
health care programs and resources.
Many were pleased and surprised
to hear that they may qualify
for MaineCare or other assistance
programs, and CAHC staff was able
to dispel some myths out there
(one being "men are not eligible
for MaineCare" - Not true!), and
answer some questions about health
care reform and what it means
for people (the most common question
being, "when can I sign up?").
In fact, our table was so popular
that the bulk of our materials
were given away to people within
the first three hours of this
two day event!
 
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Mr. Stein Goes to Washington!
On
August 30, Heath and Human Services
(HHS) hosted a one-day conference
on issues regarding implementation
of the Exchanges in Washington
D.C.
CAHC Board member Mitchell Stein
joined other stakeholders to discuss
several aspects of Exchange implementation,
from the needs of consumers and
employers to general operations,
including eligibility and enrollment
of participants, plan qualifications
and the role of the Exchanges
in promoting delivery system reform.
Senior Administration officials
from HHS, Treasury, and Labor
were in attendance to listen to
stakeholder feedback.
To view the video from the conference,
go to http://www.hhs.gov/ociio/initiative/exchanges_video_8-30-2010.html.
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